Alphabet International has developed a new online remarketing platform to handle the disposal of its vehicles at end of contract. It carries the branding Alphabet Used Cars in all markets to give it a unique identity and a standard format for users wherever they are based. One advantage of the system is that once data about a particular vehicle has been uploaded to it, all following stages are automated. After the sale price and buyers details have been recorded, the invoice is automatically generated and the accompanying documentation is also generated automatically.

BCA Partnership

The system has been developed in partnership with BCA and is gradually being rolled out across Europe. First to use the system was Alphabet Italy, followed by the company’s operations in Spain, Poland, France and the Netherlands. The next markets to follow will be Belgium and Luxemburg, which will adopt the new system from September. Alphabet Germany is scheduled to follow in Q1 next year, with the UK operation following in Q2.

“It’s important that we are a reliable partner,” comments Jules Blijde, chief operations officer of Alphabet International. “In online auctions, the buyer is buying from the system, so we need a good overview, with a complete set of pictures, we need to be transparent about damage. We don’t need complaints afterwards that the quality of the car is not as expected. We need to make sure the buyer doesn’t have any surprises. If you can build up this reliability, the dealers will have a positive impression and that’s important.”

The standardised layout will incorporate the different bidding possibilities that were available before, but now they will all be included under the Alphabet Used Cars label. These include a ‘Buy Now’ option, overnight auctions and longer auctions. “Different types, but all in one platform, so it doesn’t differ by country,” says Andrea Meissner, head of international operations.

Cross-border bidding

The system is designed for buyers in one particular country to buy cars in that country, but that does not prevent cross border bidding, “At the moment, we are selling the cars in each market, so we don’t normally sell a Spanish car in Germany for instance,” explains Andrea Meissner. “But a buyer from Germany can, of course, log into the Spanish platform and buy a car there. So there is export across markets also but not actively.

“For Alphabet itself, we looked at standardisation and this is the way to go for an international company.”

“We have a huge range of cars from light commercial vehicles to premium brands. We need to sell all these vehicles and we need to do it in a trustworthy way. With the system the idea is to give the used car buyer the same look and feel with all the functionalities to make it efficient for used car buyers and also for Alphabet.”

The new system also brings high quality reporting for Alphabet internally. This helps to identify which buyers are interested in which cars so that Alphabet can let them know when particular cars will be coming up for sale.

The growth of the electric vehicle market is likely to present leasing companies with one of its big issues over the next five years. Currently many OEMs have buy-back agreements. “I think this is something that we might all look at in the future. I think how it’s developing is an interesting topic,” says Meissner.

Alphabet Used Cars is in some ways a sign of the times too as it is designed for online selling. Meissner believes that it will be interesting to follow how the market develops and what effect it is likely to have in countries where physical auctions are the commonest way to dispose of used cars.

Once the cars for re-marketing have been logged onto the system Alphabet and BCA registered users can view the cars, which gives more buyers an opportunity to bid for them. Alongside the new online system, Alphabet will continue to sell cars through its Alphabet Used Car Centre network where sales are open to retail buyers.

Business mobility

“I think the whole mobility thinking is still in the teething phase,” says Alphabet International chief operations officer Jules Blijde. “When you ask a customer what their mobility needs are, it is very difficult for them to explain what they want. If you look at it from a fleet leasing company’s perspective, I think the core is the switch from ownership into ‘usership’. In fact, leasing is already a ‘usership’ model. We take all the risks and make it available for you.”

“We need to know where the market is moving to, if there will be disruption of the market and how the car leasing market might be disrupted, as the taxi market has been disrupted by Uber. It’s also good to understand how you might disrupt you own business.”

“So business mobility is in a teething phase, but the customer needs are central and that’s why we have invested in understanding mobility needs. These are partly connected to cost savings. If you take mobility from a customer point of view, it consists of many things. It can be a car, it can be a bike. Cars need parking spaces. A potential customer may need to fly and book a hotel and you need to decide what is in scope and what is out of scope. Where do you want to position yourself as a mobility provider? You can’t cover everything.

“When you look at leasing companies, they are some kind of connector, or integrator. When a car is damaged, we connect to a body repairer or dealer, you make sure there is roadside assistance, possibly a rental solution for before the car is delivered and also when it is in the garage. So we are already connecting and integrating and the question is, how can we broaden this connecting, integrating and value adding role that we play in mobility and what should we focus on?”